Michigan Dad Passes Away Bear-Hugging His 11-Year-Old Daughter To Protect Her From Impact Of Plane Crash

Christie Perdue, the mother of an 11-year old girl who is the only sole survivor of a devastating plane crash on Michigan island that claimed the lives of four people, including her own dad, says she feared the worst when she ran into the hospital to see her daughter and was relieved when the child greeted her. 

The mom spoke out for the first time since the crash on Beaver Island, revealing to Good Morning America on Tuesday her daughter Laney's first words to her after the crash. 

She says that she learned about the crash and she had no idea if her daughter suffered any serious injuries or if she will be able to walk out of the hospital again. 

'And she just said, "Hi, mom,"' Christie recalled with a smile, 'and so I just knew at that moment that that part was going to be OK.'  

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Christie also says that her daughter survived the crash because her husband saved her life by wrapping his hands tightly around their child.

According to the mom, Laney's final memory before impact was of her father, Mike Perdue, holding her. 

'Laney told me in the hospital that her last memory is that dad just grabbed her and held her really, really tight,' Christie said while standing outside Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, where her daughter is being treated. 'In my heart I know it protected her.' 

Mom further reveals that Laney suffered five broken bones, however, all her fractures were only on one side of the body which suggests that her other side of the body was protected, thanks to her father. 

'I believe that would make sense to me that if her injuries were on one side, then her other side was with her dad and he was holding her,' Christie said through tears. 

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The fatal crash claimed the lives of four of the five people who were aboard the Island Airways flight from Charlevoix Municipal Airport to the nearby Welke Airport. The victims have been identified by the authorities as pilot William Julian, of Traverse City, and passengers Mike Perdue, of Gaylord, Kate Leese and Adam Kendall, of Beaver Island.

Laney miraculously survived and was airlifted to the hospital in Grand Rapids to undergo treatment.

Her mother said on Tuesday that Laney still has 'a long road ahead of her.' 

Christie added: 'she is amazing and she is inspiring us all.' 

According to the latest updates on the site CaringBridge, where family having been sharing news of Laney's progress, the 11-year-old underwent multiple surgeries, was breathing on her own, adjusting to eating and drinking again, and was feeling better.

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Following her amazing recovery, the 11-year old has started her inpatient physical therapy and was even able to stand up for some time.

The heartbreaking incident happened on Saturday with five people boarding the plane which crashed just 15 minutes later while approaching Welke Airport west of Mackinaw City.  

Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board said the investigation into the cause of the crash was still in its early stages, but John Brannen, Senior Air Safety Investigator with the federal agency, told 9 & 10 News that they were looking into whether high winds played a role in the tragedy. 

Brannen said the investigation will also examine how much the plane weighed at the time of the crash. 

'One of the things that we do look at and one of the things we’re doing today is, we took all the baggage from the airplane, we’re weighing all the baggage,' said  the NTSB official. 'Weight and balance is an important factor in aircraft so we’re looking at their load manifest to see if it matches up with what we actually weighed.'

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Reportedly, Christie's husband and crash victim Mike Perdue worked as a real estate agent in Gaylord, Michigan, where he lived with his wife, their two daughters and twin sons. 

'We are heartbroken with the loss of my husband, a father, brother, son and friend. He gave the best bear hugs, and I believe he grabbed our daughter and protected her,' Christie Perdue previously stated. 'Our prayers are also with our island community and the other souls lost in the accident.' 

One of the loved ones has also started a GoFundMe campaign to help the Perdue family financially, which has drawn more than $84,000 in donations as of Tuesday.

William Julian, 55, was behind the controls of the plane. He is survived by his wife and daughter. According to a report by 9&10 News, Julian had started working for Island Airways seven months ago. 

The crash also claimed the lives of Leese, 35, and Kendall, 37, who only a few days back posted pictures with their two dogs, who were aboard the plane on Saturday, also died.   

Leese, a biochemist, and Kendall, an attorney, had only recently settled in Beaver Island after spending years traveling. They had been planning to open Antho Vineyards, a winery and tasting room, on the island in Lake Michigan.

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'It feels like a place somewhere along the road where you could stop and have a glass of wine with new friends,' Leese told The Detroit News for a story published a week before the crash. 'Our goal is to have that kind of place that brings people together.'

The couple also were in the process of renovating a century-old farmhouse on the island, which they had decided to make their new home because of its peaceful atmosphere.  They called themselves 'travelers turned farmers' as they had lived in 200 plus places in an airstream and an old boat since 2016. 

'Almost immediately after we pulled into the marina here, we knew this was the level of quiet we were looking for,' Kendall told the newspaper. 'At night, there's almost complete silence here. ...It's the kind of place we had been looking for as our next spot.' 

Only days before the tragic accident, they posted a video showing the wheels of a flight they were taking hovering several miles above the Beaver Island shoreline, with the caption: 'Flying (again!) to take the big dog back to his third vet appointment. Crossing all the fingers and toes for better news.'

In another post, on October 29, the couple shared another image of a flight they took over the island, showing trees of every color surrounding one road leading to the beach. 

It read: 'That little bitty road leads to one of our favorite campgrounds, and now somehow we live on the other side of the epic view. Life is wild.'

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They used to use their shared Instagram page to post pictures and videos: 'lifewithoutwaiting,' and often used to post pictures of their cross-country adventures and share photos of their dogs, Frank and Barker.

One posted on Friday showed the two dogs laying on top of a bed in the back of an ambulance they converted into a living space, and another posted that same day featured Leese and Kendall standing outside a trailer with their two dogs, which they called a 'family photo.'

'We've owned this airstream going on six years and this is our very first family photo in the doorway,' the caption read. 'Thanks @mmivphoto for these impromptu happy shots. I always want to remember us like this.'

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The twin-engine Britten-Norman plane with a pilot and four-passenger on board was flying from Charlevoix on Michigan’s lower peninsula, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. According to officials, it crashed at Welke Airport, located 35 miles away, as it was about to land.   

A Coast Guard helicopter was conducting training when they received the emergency alarm of the accident. They could also see debris on the island and local medical teams already responding.

Beaver Island Fire Department

Reportedly, the helicopter airlifted two people to the hospital - Mike and Laney Perdue. 

The Coast Guard said that officers were performing chest compressions on the 11-year-old girl while she was being airlifted to a hospital in Petoskey.

Mike initially survived the crash but tragically succumbed to his injuries en route to the hospital. Laney was subsequently transferred to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids for further treatment.  

According to Island Airways, this is the first crash the airline has ever had. The officials are yet to determine the cause of the crash and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration. 

Beaver Island Fire Department

Reportedly another Beaver Island crash happened on a foggy day in February 2001 when a pilot and passenger were killed when the plane landed in a thicket of trees nearly two miles short of the airport runway.

After that tragic incident, a mother and her three children survived and waited in the woods to be rescued, withstanding winter temperatures for more than 15 hours, according to the News-Review. 

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